Trend Micro Mobile Security & Antivirus will definitely protect your Android from malware and other threats. And some extra features sweeten the deal, but in a crowded space, this app doesn't distinguish itself.

Though it's unlikely that you'll ever encounter Android malware, it's still possible. It's also pretty dang likely you'll lose your Android device at some point. To combat those and other threats, both exotic and mundane, there are security apps like Trend Micro Mobile Security & Antivirus (free). This app ticks off most of the boxes for a security app, but doesn't distinguish itself in a crowded space.

Trend Micro is available as a free download from the Google Play store with a 30-day trial of pro features. After that, Trend will only let you scan for malware; perform backups and restore from those backups; optimize your battery; clear your memory; and wipe your history. You'll lose the ability to block malware before it's installed; the app privacy scanner; safe browsing; parental controls; call and text blocking; all anti-theft features; and power-saving features. You can upgrade to the pro version by shelling out $29.99 either online or via in-app purchase for a one-year, one-device license. Alternatively, you can spring for the Trend Micro Maximum Security megasuite, which starts at $89.95 for three licenses that you can use to install security software on your Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices.

This review focuses on version six of the software, running on a Samsung Galaxy S5. Since the last time I looked at Trend Micro, the developers have moved to a much cleaner, vertically oriented design, which I quite like. I installed the software using a link generated by the Maximum Security Windows application and entering my license key, which is a bit pesky. When you install from a link supplied by Symantec Norton Security, you don't have to enter a code. Same with McAfee LiveSafe 2015. Happily, Trend Micro appeared to have little to no impact on the phone's performance.

Antivirus Protection When it comes to testing the effectiveness of a company's mobile antivirus engine, I rely on the results from independent labs. It's just safer than working with live malware samples. In AV-Test's latest round of Android security testing, researchers found that Trend Micro detected 100 percent of the 2,186 malware samples used in the evaluation. This beats the already very high average detection score of 98 percent. Remarkably, AV-Test reports that Trend Micro generated no false-positive alerts.

In my hands-on testing, Trend Micro clocked the fastest scan I've seen on Android. When connected to Wi-Fi and with 12 apps running in the background, Trend Micro took a mere 2 seconds to scan all my apps. A full device scan took only slightly longer, an average of 3.67 seconds. But when you're not connected to Wi-Fi, it's a different story. With only a 3G connection, a full device scan took a grueling 15 minutes to complete. Like Bitdefender Mobile Security and Antivirus, Trend Micro's antivirus scan is cloud-based and requires a connection to the Internet.

In this version, Trend Micro introduces the ability to scan apps in Google Play before they are installed on your Android. It works by routing your traffic through Trend Micro's VPN service, letting the security company peek inside your device's encrypted HTTPS traffic. It's a neat feature, but it only works with the Google Play store, which is where I usually direct readers to go for safe apps. Hopefully Trend Micro will expand this feature to include all APKs being downloaded to phones.

When I activated this feature, I noticed that my phone would lose connection with the Wi-Fi network and would not automatically reconnect. I can't say decisively that Trend Micro's mobile VPN scheme was the cause, but it certainly seems likely.

In addition to overt malware, Trend Micro also scans for apps that might leak your data or share excessive amounts of your personal information with advertisers. It breaks these down into categories of low, medium, and high risk. Tapping on the categories shows the offending apps, and tapping each app reveals fairly detailed information about the information each app accesses.

This works as well as any other app privacy scanner, and, like the others it comes up short on information. The information economy of apps is a complicated one, and I've yet to see a security app that explains itself well. I worry that most consumers will simply be confused and ignore these features entirely.

Safe Browsing and Parental ControlsNot every attack comes from malware. Malicious code hidden in websites can hurt your Android phone the same as your desktop, and phishing scams are just as dangerous on mobile. Trend Micro provides a Safe Browsing feature that scans websites as they load for anything malicious, and protects you from known phishing sites. In my testing, the app easily blocked the Anti-Malware Test Standards Organization's test site, which is designed to trigger phishing detection in security apps.

Unlike most every security app, Trend Micro also includes parental controls. These appear to be simple content filters—a far cry from the kind of tools you'll find in a standalone product like Net Nanny. While Trend managed to block obvious sites like PornTube, a simple Google image search returned copious amounts of sex and nudity. But hey, it does include white and black lists for websites!

While I didn't notice a big performance hit when using safe browsing and parental controls at the highest restriction level, my tests said otherwise. With safe browsing and parental controls on the high and child settings, respectively, I saw sites loading at one third the speed they did without protection running. Your particular network experience may vary, and you might not notice anything. Even so, it represented a much larger impact than other apps I've reviewed.

Max Eddy is a Junior Software Analyst investigating the latest and greatest apps for Android. Paranoid by nature, he's also keeping an eye on emerging threats and countermeasures at SecurityWatch with Neil Rubenking and Fahmida...

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